Vongole Mediterranio Baked Clams Rice With Saffron Food

VONGOLE MEDITERRANIO (BAKED CLAMS & RICE WITH SAFFRON)

Steps:

• Place clams in a pot with wine and garlic, cover and steam the clams for 5 - 6 minutes (until they open).
• Please, discard any clams that do not open -- they are bad.
• Drain the pot, reserving the liquid and remove the clam meat from the shells. Leave some clams in the shell for garnishing.
• Set the clams aside.
• Strain the clam liquid in a sieve that has been lined with cheese cloth, linen or a muslin cloth and reserve the clam liquid.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Saute the onion in butter in an ovenproof casserole for 2 - 3 minutes.
• Add the rice and saffron to the casserole dish and gently stir to coat with butter.
• Next add the chicken stock and clam liquid to the dish and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, reduce the heat and cover the dish.
• Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the casserole dish from the oven and uncover, add the clams and butter to the dish, gently mixing together.
• Re-cover the casserole dish , return to oven and bake for 7 minutes more.
• Remove dish from oven, uncover, sprinkle with the scallions, garnish with the reserved clams in shell and serve immediately.
• A wonderful light meal, served with fruit salad.

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt (at least 2 tablespoons) and the pasta and stir to separate. Cook until 3 minutes short of al dente (according to package directions), then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and sizzling, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pepper flakes and crushed tomatoes, season with salt and cook until the tomatoes are slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add the clams and cover for 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until the clams open. Discard unopened clams.
• Add the pasta to the skillet along with the parsley, cheese and butter. Cook, tossing and stirring and drizzling with olive oil, until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce is silky and thickened. Serve drizzled with oil and sprinkled with cheese and parsley.

PASTA ALLE VONGOLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saute pan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and saute until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown. Add the white wine and clams, increase the heat to high and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the clams have opened, about 8 minutes. As the clams open, transfer them to a large bowl. When all of the clams are removed, reduce the heat to medium low, add the oregano and swirl in the butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the linguine according to the package direction. Using tongs, transfer the linguine to the saute pan with the clam juice and toss to coat. Turn off the heat and add the clams and any juices that have collected in the bowl. Using tongs, turn the linguine to coat it with the sauce. Top with parsley. Serve immediately.

VONGOLE AL CARTOCCIO: CLAMS COOKED IN FOIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Divide the clams, garlic cloves, flat-leaf parsley, and cherry tomatoes into 4 equal portions.
• Take 2 sheets of aluminum foil and place them on top of each other to create a sturdier base. Lift all 4 sides up to create a container. Place 1 portion of clams, garlic, parsley, and tomatoes in the center. Drizzle with 1/4 of extra-virgin olive oil and wine. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure there is extra room in the aluminum foil container so that the clams can steam open. Grab all the sides of the aluminum foil and tightly seal them closed, to prevent the steam from escaping.
• Repeat the above process 3 more times to create 4 individual servings. Place the foil packets in the oven for approximately 20 minutes to allow all the clams to fully open. Serve the sealed aluminum foil packages immediately. Allow each guest to open their own individual packages to experience all the aromas contained.

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the garlic and chile pepper in the olive oil until the garlic is golden brown, about 1 minute.
• Add the clams, clam juice and wine. Cover and simmer over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally until all the clams open.
• While the clams are simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until al dente.
• Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the clam sauce and parsley and toss well. Serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

Steps:

• Put a pan of water on to boil. While that's happening, sort through your cleaned clams and if there are any that aren't tightly closed, give them a sharp tap. If they don't close, throw them away. Put a large pan with a lid on a high heat and let it heat up. Finely slice the parsley stalks, then put them to one side and roughly chop the leaves. Peel and chop the garlic, quarter the tomatoes and get your wine ready.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water with a good pinch of salt and cook according to packet instructions until al dente. About 5 minutes before your pasta is ready, get ready to start cooking - you'll have to be quick about this, so no mucking about! Put 4 generous lugs of extra virgin olive oil into the hot pan and add the garlic, parsley stalks and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Crumble in the dried chilli and add the chopped tomatoes. Stir everything around constantly and just as the garlic starts to colour, tip in the clams and pour in the wine. It will splutter and steam, so give everything a good shake and put the lid on the pan. After about 3 or 4 minutes the clams will start to open, so keep shuffling the pan around until all of them have opened. Take the pan off the heat. Get rid of any clams that haven't opened.
• By now your pasta should be just about perfect. Drain and add to the pan of clams along with the parsley leaves and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Stir or toss for a further minute or two to let the beautiful seashore juices from the clams be absorbed into the pasta. Serve right away. No sane Italian would eat this dish without some fresh hunks of bread to mop up the juices. Beautiful!
• PS The first time you make this it will be good, but you might find things don't come together exactly at the right time. But don't worry, this dish is all about confidence and the more you make this, the more you'll find the pasta and clams are ready and perfect at the same time. And then it will be great!

BAKED CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL: VONGOLE GRATINATE AL FORNO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Scrub the clams under cold running water.
• Pry them open and rinse out any sand or grit.
• Gently separate the top and bottom shells, loosening and allowing the clam to divide, with some remaining on the top shell and some remaining on the bottom shell.
• Use a knife to loosen the clam in the shell, removing any sand or grit that may have been under the clam. All of the clams may not divide evenly between the top and bottom shell. Cut these clams into small pieces and distribute among the other shells. You should have at least 16 clamshell halves to fill and bake. Arrange the clam-filled shells on a baking sheet and set aside.
• In a small bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic. Use a fork to stir the olive oil into this mixture. It should be moist but not oily. Set aside.
• Fill each clam with a portion of the topping mixture, spreading it evenly over the clam to the edge of the shell. The filling should be about 1/8-inch thick.
• Bake until the topping begins to brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and adjust oven temperature to broil. Place the clams under the broiler and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

PORTUGUESE CLAM RICE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in oil until tender.
• Add pimento paste and parsley. Cook for a couple of minutes.
• Drain clams but reserving liquid.
• Add the clams to the saucepan. Measure clam juice and add enough water to measure 1 1/4 cups of liquid.
• Add rice and tomatoes and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low for 20 minutes.
• Add salt if necessary.

SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE (SPAGHETTI WITH CLAMS)

Steps:

• Saute garlic and pepper in the oil. Add the tomatoes and cook 10 to 15 minutes over medium flame. Add clams, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Clams are cooked when they are opened.
• Serve over spaghetti or your choice of pasta cooked al dente. Don't eat any of the clams that do not open.

VONGOLE CONTADINA (STEAMED CLAMS WITH PROSCIUTTO)

Steps:

• Saute prosciutto and garlic in oil and butter in a pot for 1 minute.
• Add the white wine, wait 30 seconds than add the cream and bring to a boil.
• Next, add the clams and cover the pot and steam for 5 - 6 minutes.
• Please, discard any clams that do not open. They are bad.
• Add the butter and parsley to the pot and mix together, season with parsley and black pepper.
• Transfer the clams and prosciutto mixture to a serving bowl and enjoy.